


Hold Fast

by ZsforSs



Category: Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, But there's no homophobia, Fae & Fairies, Hugs Fix Everything, Kidnapping, M/M, Standard Faerie Bad Behavior, Vaguely medieval time period, because fuck homophobia, no beta we die like men, non-graphic nudity, sexy makeouts, yanno that stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:15:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24017332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZsforSs/pseuds/ZsforSs
Summary: “And why have you come?” the knight said.“They say a faerie knight guards these woods and that all who pass through must offer something up to him. I wanted to see if it was true.”...it's Tam Lin, but I Thranto'd it.
Relationships: Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo/Eli Vanto
Comments: 24
Kudos: 79





	Hold Fast

The woods were quiet, unnaturally so, but Eli pulled his green cloak tighter around him and pressed on until he found a small grassy dell tucked between a pair of gnarled oaks, a wild rose bush grew around the base of one of the trees.

Eli gently ran his fingers over the soft white petals before reaching down to carefully break a single flower off the bush.

“You should not be here,” someone behind him said. Their voice was deep and cold as frost-rimed grass in late fall.

“The woods belong to no one,” Eli said as he snapped off the worst of the thorns from the rose's stem. “All may come and go as they please.”

Now he turned to face the voice. It belonged to a tall man dressed in midnight black leathers, a sword at his hip.

The knight, for Eli knew that's what this man was, was a foot taller and much broader than Eli. But he was not afraid. He took in the man's blue skin, shining black hair and blood-red eyes. He smirked as he watched those eyes wander down his own frame.

“And why have you come?” the knight said.

“They say a faerie knight guards these woods and that all who pass through must offer _something_ up to him. I wanted to see if it was true.”

The knight stalked closer, like some great wolf creeping up on a deer. Eli watched him come and held his ground.

The knight loomed over him, “And what will you offer to me you brazen boy?”

Eli grinned, twirling the rose between his fingers. “Well I've no belongings with me, unless you want the shirt off my back. If I ever had a maidenhead I lost it some time ago... still I have _another_ head, if you're interested.”

They were nearly chest to chest now. Eli's breath caught as he looked up into those burning red eyes.

A large gloved hand gripped his hair and forced his head back, and lips hot as coals pressed against Eli's bared throat, making him keen. The knight bore him down into the grassy dell and covered Eli's body with his own.

Which suited Eli _just fine_.

* * *

He had stumbled out of the woods that day just as the sun was setting, dazed and with bleeding fingers still clenched too tight around his pilfered rose.

He went back to the woods the next day, and the day after.

Two weeks and now a round ten meetings later Eli laid naked on his lover's chest. They were again tucked away in their private little dell, his knight idly running his fingers through Eli's hair as they enjoyed each other's company.

“They say you were a human knight,” Eli murmured. “But you fell from your horse in these very woods, and the Queen of Faeries caught you and kept you.”

The knight frowned. “' _They'_ are remarkably well informed for being simple gossips.” He ran his thumb along Eli's lip. “Go on. What else do ' _they'_ say?”

Eli kissed his knight's fingers. “They say your name is Thrawn.” Sharp red eyes cut into him but Eli didn't falter. “They say you are the younger brother to Lord Mitth, and that he's missed you terribly the five years you've been missing.”

Thrawn went rigid beneath him, he lay still for long enough Eli moved to get off him- only for strong blue arms to wrap around him and pull him close.

“Five years?” Thrawn asked.

Eli nodded.

Thrawn was quiet again but still held Eli close. “How is he?” Thrawn asked finally. “ Do you know?”

“ As well as can be expected all things considered,” Eli said. “His wife is pregnant. You'll have a niece or nephew soon.”

Thrawn sighed deeply and pressed his face into Eli's hair. Eli carded soothing fingers through Thrawn's own silky locks.

Eventually Thrawn looked at him again. “ I know you from somewhere,” he said. “But I cannot recall _where._ ”

“You saw me at a crossroads, perhaps a week before you went missing. I was helping my father bring livestock to market.” Eli told him.

Thrawn's eyes lit up in recognition. “You were holding a baby goat.”

“I was.”

Thrawn had been the handsomest man Eli had ever seen, and the way Thrawn had looked at him then, like he would gladly carry Eli off, had made his stomach churn and his knees weak.

Thrawn traced the delicate curves Eli's ear with his long fingers. “I almost stopped and pretended I wanted to buy a goat.” Thrawn admitted. “So that I might talk to you.”

“I wish you had.”

They lapsed back into silence and only then did Eli notice it had grown late while they talked. He needed to go soon. Still...

He kissed the tip of Thrawn's nose. “If she stole you away there must be a way to steal you back,” he said.

The world spun, and as his back hit the cold grass he realized Thrawn had rolled them over, pinning Eli beneath him. There was a hand in his hair again, tilting his head back to look up at Thrawn.

“No,” the knight said firmly. “It is too dangerous.”

“I'm not afraid-”

“No.”

Eli sighed. “How long will we have this then?” he asked. He regretted it immediately, the look Thrawn shot him was so pained it made his heart ache.

His knight opened his mouth-

“Thraaaaaawn...” The voice was beautiful and melodious, echoing through the entire wood, and it filled Eli with _dread._

Thrawn pressed him harder into the grass, as if to hide him. He whispered urgently. “Do not move or make a sound until we are gone. Wait until the crickets sing first. Then you must go as fast as you can away from here- do not stop for anything until you are clear of the trees. Understand?"

Eli nodded.

Thrawn kissed his forehead and stood striding out of the dell and calling “ I am here my Queen!” as he redressed.

He heard them speaking more outside his view, but could not make out what they said over the pounding of his own heart in his ears. He lay there- freezing his ass off honestly- in a heavy dead silence that stole his breath until the crickets started chirping again. Only then did he get up. He did just as Thrawn said, not even stopping to redress until he cleared the trees.

* * *

It had been 3 days since the night they'd been interrupted by the Faerie Queen, and though he'd come to the woods all three of those days he had not seen his knight again.

He stood at the same wild rose where he had met Thrawn, and noted gloomily that the roses were beginning to wilt. He had carefully pressed that first rose between the pages of his journal.

Strong, familiar, _beloved_ blue arms wrapped around him from behind, one caressed his hip and the other pressed flat over his heart.

“Thrawn.” he sighed in relief.

“Eli.” Thrawn murmured and pressed a short hot kiss to his neck. “On Halloween the Queen and her retinue will ride across the land. We will reach the crossroads where first I saw you at midnight. Hide yourself away there and wait for me.

"Mine is the only white horse in the company. When you see me you must pull me from my horse and hold me fast no matter what happens. The Queen may change my shape or any other manner of things to make you let go. If you can hold me through it all you will win me back from her.”

“What if I lose my grip?” Eli asked.

“Every seven years the Faeries pay a living tithe to Hell.” Thrawn told him.

“You think they'd-”

“Do _not_ let go.”

And then Eli was alone in the woods again.

Halloween was tomorrow.

* * *

He left his home as soon as the sun set on Halloween, clad in dark clothes and the deep green cloak he'd worn the first time he'd met Thrawn in the woods. There was a small copse of trees there beside the crossroads. He tucked himself away among the twisted roots of the largest tree and waited.

He was afraid he'd fall asleep at first but it was biting cold and windy, Eli couldn't have slept even if he wanted. He could just hear the faint ringing of the clock tower in town, and as the clock finally began chiming midnight the world seemed to grow heavy again.

The chimes slowed... and then Eli couldn't hear them at all over the clop of hooves.

The first horse was a dark gray dappled creature, upon which rode a distressingly beautiful woman clad in sparkling white. She had long black hair and sparkling blue eyes, and looking at her made Eli feel vaguely sick, like he'd eaten too many sweets. She passed by without noticing him.

Next there passed a party of uncanny knights, in shimmering black armor upon enormous black horses. And behind them even more knights in armor of every color on bay horses. Among them rode a single white horse.

Eli's breathe caught. He would have known Thrawn even without the horse, so similar did he look now to that first time they had locked eyes. Eli waited until the white horse drew near his hiding spot, then sprung from the trees and seized his knight's waist, pulling him down from his horse and sending them both dropping to the dirt, Thrawn on top of Eli.

He had a moment to meet Thrawn's wide frightened eyes before an unearthly shriek rent the air, and in his arms Thrawn began to change.

He grew heavier and heavier, his skin disappearing under thick coarse fur. Eli struggled to breathe under the crushing weight of the bear Thrawn had become. The creature snarled and thrashed in his grip.

Did it hurt? What the Queen was doing to him? Eli shut his eyes, laying his head against Thrawn's chest to listen to his pounding heart.

And held on.

The bear in his arms shrank and twisted until Thrawn was once again man-shaped but cold, deathly cold as if Eli held a man of ice in his arms, it _burned_ but Eli did not let go.

Next Thrawn was changed into a massive snake, and then a boar. Each time Thrawn was changed it felt like Eli held him for hours, until his arms ached, and Thrawn would change again. At one point it felt like Eli had _nothing_ in his arms but a fierce wind. He could still hear Thrawn's heart beating though, and he did not let go.

Thrawn grew white-hot and then seemed almost to melt into some strange writhing creature with snakelike, tentacles that coiled around his legs. Then it felt as if Thrawn changed again into a bramble bush, the thorns biting into his skin.

“My lady, dawn approaches.” a gruff voice said.

There was hiss like a thousand snakes at once, and then it felt like Thrawn was whole and himself again in his arms. He opened his eyes and found it was true. Thrawn was naked, trembling, and soaked in sweat but himself once more.

“You've won yourself a bonnie bridegroom you ugly little wretch. You had best pray you never cross me again,” the Queen said. She stood over them both, her face twisted in fury. Behind her Eli could see the first light of dawn lighting up the sky ...Had it truly been all night? He had no idea how long he'd laid there, clinging to Thrawn with all his might. “If I had known how your treacherous eyes would wander Thrawn, I would have plucked the pretty things from your head.”

And then she and all the other fair folk were gone. He and Thrawn were alone, laying on the packed earth of the crossroads as the sun rose over the horizon.

Thrawn _laughed,_ and pressed their foreheads together. “Oh you sweet and perfect thing.”

“Are you alright?” Eli asked. He sat up, pulling Thrawn with him as he was still afraid to let go of him.

“I am better than I have been in a very long time,” Thrawn said. “Though, I am a bit cold.”

“Oh!” Eli let go of Thrawn to stand up and pull his cloak off. “ Here, put this on.”

He helped Thrawn stand on shaking legs and draped the cloak over him. It was comically short on Thrawn, but he just smiled and bent to kiss Eli deeply.

“We should get you to your brother,” Eli said. “Can you walk that far?”

“If you are with me I can do anything.” Thrawn said. He took a step and nearly keeled over before Eli caught him.

“Right, well,” Eli said, wrapping his arms back around Thrawn's waist to steady him. “Let's just start with getting to town. We'll work on everything else later.”

**Author's Note:**

> This fic quite literally appeared fully formed in my brain late last night, and I've spent all day writing it up and now posting it. I hope it doesn't suck.


End file.
